A Technical Operations Manager is required to manage the staff, facilities & environment (within teaching & research). The purpose of the role is to ensure the delivery of technical services that support the strategic objectives of each School/Department in achieving excellence in teaching & research.

Key duties:- manage, organise and administer to the laboratories and associated facilities for the Faculty.- support & develop the Technical Staff that facilitate research activities.- provide support and specialist advice to research staff and students regarding training and practical assistance.- manage Health & Safety responsibilities in accordance with the Faculty H&S Policy.- contribute to the development and improvement of the service provision and procedures within the Faculty.

Clinical & Experimental Pharmacology• Management: promoted to Senior Scientific Officer in 2006; manage all in vivo scientists in the group; conduct annual performance reviews.• Responsibilities as Deputy licence holder (since 2006): manage & maintain the activities under the licence; monthly reporting to licence holder; prepare yearly Home Office returns; train & supervise personal licence holders, maintaining training records; manage research demands within financial parameters.• Studies: produce in vivo study plans including experimental design, dosing regimes and randomisation of study groups; plan & carry out in vivo cancer model studies (primarily tumour xenografts) in immune-compromised mice according to licensed procedures; process & statistical analyses the results (SPSS); keep detailed experimental records (introduce Study Director software from Studylog for this purpose in July 2008).• In vivo techniques: routes of administration: sc, ip, iv, im; venipuncture; cardiac puncture; dissection & collection of biological tissue samples; calliper measurements of tumour burden. Surgical procedures include intra-femoral injection (orthotopic model), subcutaneous tumour implantation [CTC derived explant (CDX) models].• General techniques: tissue culture (including preparation for cells for in vivo implantation), preparation of drugs for in vivo administration; organise processing of tumour and tissue samples for ex vivo analysis; processing of blood; IHC; ELISA; COMET assay.• Duties within general lab: prepare protocols, SOPs & experimental study record book; preparation of Health & Safety documentation (especially COSHH).• Good Clinical Practice for Clinical Laboratories: fully trained and competent to work in the laboratory to analyse human clinical trial samples; ensure that work is performed to the GCP Clinical Laboratory guidelines; maintain detailed experimental notebooks; work to approved SOPs.• Presentation of data at lab meetings.

Sep 2003 - Feb 2005Heart failure researchDivision of CardiologySchool of MedicineInvolved with specific research projects associated with heart failure, using transgenic mouse models and pig models.• Techniques: collection of biological tissue samples; preparation of DNA for sequencing; mini & maxi preps of plasmids required for transfection experiments; restriction digestion of mini/maxi prep products for plasmid verification; tissue culture; PCR genotyping; gel electrophoretic separation; prepare heart protein samples; Western blotting.• Duties within the laboratory: assist post-graduate students; development & writing of laboratory protocols; maintenance of stock buffer solutions; ordering of consumables & chemicals; assisting the preparation of Health & Safety documentation (COSHH assessments, risk assessments and GM forms).May 2002 - Sep 2003Circadian biologySchool of Biological SciencesInvolved with specific research projects associated with animal biology science focusing on circadian clock gene biology.• Techniques: sectioning of biological tissues with microtome or cryostat; confocal microscopy; in situ hybridisation; use of radioactive isotopes; preparation of DNA & RNA samples; PCR and isolation of genes; gel electrophoretic separation; aiding development of cDNA library arrays.• Duties within the animal biology laboratory: organising the hamster breeding programme to match research needs; ensuring stocks remain within financial constraints; computer tracking of stock; allocation of animals to meet research project requirements; physiological monitoring whilst entraining; animal dissection & collection of biological tissue.•Duties within the general laboratory: provide assistance to postdoctoral staff & post-graduate students; monitoring of project students; management of laboratory stocks; development of laboratory protocols/ maintain catalogues and libraries of techniques; regular maintenance of general laboratory equipment.